A personal "behind the scenes" insight from the perspectives of CEO-wife and COO-husband power team into what its like to be a family owned and operated small business called EBSCO Spring Company. www.ebscospring.com

The Sausage Biscuit Recovery Theory

It’s Over!!! As the self-appointed economic adviser to the CEO and CFO of Ebsco spring (and no they don’t listen to me) I pronounce the Economic Recovery complete! So there it is. The economic recovery is over and the economy is booming again. Does my pronouncement make you feel any better? It should. Our customers orders are through the roof and our only problem is hiring enough people to get the springs out the door. As complex as the bureaucrats, politicians, economist and the media make the economy, it’s as simple as the McDonald’s Sausage Biscuit and medium coffee (I love McDonald’s coffee).

I know you are sitting on the edge of your seat saying “Please, tell me more”, right? Okay, let me explain. I understand there was a home mortgage crisis and some European countries were going broke, Detroit was filing for bankruptcy. and blah blah blah. I realize it’s not blah blah blah if you have a retirement plan with the city of Detroit, or you were upside down on your home but what about the millions and millions who don’t live in Detroit or work for the Greek government? There is always something somewhere. When all this started, maybe you had $2.95 in your wallet. You could get that sausage biscuit and coffee at McDonalds. On your way to work, headed for Micky Ds the man on the radio told you the economy was BAD. All of the important people were interviewed and they said things were going to get REALLY BAD. Oh No! Things are getting bad? I better save my $2.95 and skip breakfast today. So you passed by McDonalds and went to work. Your neighbor, before leaving for work was watching CNN, 24 hour news. They had charts, graphics and experts explaining how bad it was going to get. They all looked very serious and filled the full hour with their ongoing coverage of “The Economy in Crisis”.They had really serious looking graphics and very ominous sounding music to accompany it. Your neighbor looked in his wallet and found she had $4.95 (she likes the Egg McMuffin and it’s not on the dollar menu). She heard the ominous “The Economy in Crisis”music in the other room and decided she would skip breakfast also. You can never be too cautious.

So you, and a few thousand other cautious neighbors skipped breakfast that morning. When you returned home the daily paper had huge headlines, SPECIAL EDITION America’s Financial Crisis”. You turn on MSNBC and see they have assembled a panel of top financial experts who sit in front of the camera wringing their hands telling you of the dark days ahead. They all have a small smirk on their face as they try to look glum (This is the only time economist get any attention). Wanting to get away from all of this you switch to Fox News. They have assembled a panel of top conservatives telling you that the liberal tax and spend politicians are finally bringing to an end America as we know it. WOW! It’s everywhere. It all must be true. I think I’ll skip going to Mc Donalds tonight for my Big Mac and just eat some cereal. The media coverage doesn’t let up. This is the top news story and they are going to beat the competition with their coverage. 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A gentleman around the corner works for McDonalds. He was just told that because of the “Economic Crisis” their sales are down and they are cutting his hours in half. They just didn’t have the sales to give him 40 hours. After a couple of weeks at half-pay, he cancels his newspaper subscription and gets rid of cable TV to make his budget. The newspaper has several subscription cancellations and sees revenues fall. CNN notes lower viewership and the decline in cable and satellite sales. PROOF! The economic crisis has hit home! They were right! You can almost here them say “Told You SO”. They lay off reporters who now can’t afford that new Dyson and makes do with their old Hover. The company that makes the springs for the Dyson get hit with their order cancellations and reduce hours at their plant, and on and on and on.

SEE! They told you the economy was in crisis.

After a period of time, months. years, you look in your wallet and you see that same $2.95. You know there is an “economic crisis” but you still have that $2.95. It didn’t disappear. Your stomach is growling and that sausage biscuit sounds really good this morning. In fact you even heard that in attempt to get sales back McDonalds has added their large coffee to the $1 menu. Now you can buy more with that $2.95. You decide to do it. Economic crisis or not, you still have the same $2.95 in your pocket and your hungry. Your neighbors finally break down and do the same thing. McDonalds business picks up and restores the young man to 40 hours per week. H e re-orders his subscription to cable and the paper. The paper has the money to re-hire the reporter and they go out and buy that new Dyson. Dyson starts selling vacuums again and increases their orders to the spring plant. The spring plant restore everyone’s hours to keep up with the increased demand (and no, for the record, Ebsco doesn’t sell spring directly to Dyson.)

There you have it. The Sausage Biscuit Recovery Theory. One person deciding to buy a $1 sausage biscuit at McDonalds was responsible for America’s economic turn around.

Now if you will excuse me, I’m going to do my part in supporting my country by going to McDonalds. I’m hungry.